Child's Play
by Chinorwegia
Summary: Honoka's walking (read: running) to the clubroom to spend some quality time before they get down to practice. But upon arriving there, she realizes that the one she wants is nowhere to be seen. Or rather, she just hasn't noticed her yet. I dunno what the second genre should be but I feel that chibification should be a genre. Oh well.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know people are probably going to kill me for this, but I've run into a writer's block for the other stories. Not that I ran out of ideas. I know how I want each story to progress but I just can't put into words yet. So take this as a peace offering until my work load from school loosens up and I figure out how to type again. I don't own Love Live.**

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><p>"Cheers for the love~!" Honoka sang under her breath as she walked briskly to the clubroom. Umi and Kotori were still in the classroom since the two of them had clean-up duty and both had urged Honoka to go ahead without them. The ginger desperately wanted to run to the club and find the student she had been waiting to see since they separated the previous day. But she didn't, because the Student Council President and the Vice President would catch her. And punish her. Not that it ever happened, even if she ran. But she preferred not getting in trouble for now real reason.<p>

"I'm here~" She said cheerfully, pushing the door open before her. The clubroom was silent. Not a single member was there. "Huh? Where's everyone? …I thought Maki-chan would be the first here, for sure. Or Nico-chan. She practically lives here when she's not in class." Honoka frowned, having been so excited to see what she considered her most important person.

"Oh well." She sighed, walking forward to the table and taking a seat on one of the chairs. "Guess I'll have to wait then." Becoming bored almost immediately, the ginger rested her head on the table and stared at the opposing wall. She slowly shifted her gaze, eyeing every facet and decoration on the wall. She turned her head completely to the right and then down to the floor, where she saw something she hadn't noticed earlier. A pile of clothes, the school uniform to be exact, was on the floor next to her. She decided it was interesting enough to investigate and got down into a kneeling position next to the pile. Honoka gingerly poked it with one finger. A sharp gasp came from the pile and it shifted away from her. Honoka flinched back and saw something else. The blue ribbon of the first years had fallen from the rest of the uniform and it lay on the floor. She picked it up and turned it around in her hands.

"A moving pile of school uniform that belongs to a first year student…" Honoka muttered, not understanding the situation she was in. At the sound of her voice so close, the pile shuddered. As Honoka watched, a small head poked out the top of the shirt portion of the pile. Amethyst eyes sparkling with curiosity framed by strands of crimson hair peered at the shocked second-year.

"W-what's going on here?!" Honoka screamed at the top of her lungs. Thanks to her idol practice, she hit a very, very high note with her scream and it rang loudly through the halls of the school. The child, which she recognized as Maki, did not like the scream. So the red-head did what any normal child would do when screamed at. She started to cry. Loudly. Almost at the same noise level as Honoka's scream.

"No, no, no! Don't cry, don't cry!" Honoka said, frantically looking around for something to distract the crying child. Meanwhile, Maki continued to sob, tears streaming down her face and snot running from her nose. She held her arms at her side instead of trying to wipe her face, probably because the ends of the sleeves were stuck under the skirt, which she was standing on.

"What's going on, Honoka?" Eri asked, walking into the room. Nozomi was right behind her, though Eri blocked her entrance with one arm as she scanned the area.

"I don't know, Eri-chan! She surprised me, so I screamed and now she's crying and won't stop!" Honoka wailed, which the two third-years barely heard over Maki's renewed sobs.

"She? She who?" Eri said, confused. She let Nozomi into the room, and the purple-haired girl made a beeline for the source of the crying.

"It's Maki-chan, Eri-chi!" Nozomi said, surprised. She knelt down by the crying girl as Eri walked over to get a better look.

"…What?" was all Eri was able to come up with. Nozomi ignored her, finding it more important to stop the sobs first.

"There, there. It's okay. Honoka-chan didn't mean to scare you." Nozomi murmured, rubbing Maki's back with a slow circular motion. Tearful violet eyes met the emerald eyes of the high-schooler. Maki tilted her head, questioningly, then looked at Honoka. Honoka smiled, even though she was still weirded out by Maki becoming a child. Maki smiled back, even though there were still tears in her eyes.

"Okay now?" Nozomi asked. Maki nodded, giving the spiritual girl a shy smile. Nozomi returned it gently. She pulled a cloth out from her bag and wiped Maki's face clean of the tear stains and snot.

"How did this happen, Honoka?" Eri asked, now that Maki was calm again.

"I-I don't know! There was a pile of clothes on the floor and it turned out to be her!" Honoka said. Nozomi had picked the girl up to sit her on the table. Maki was only dressed in her older blouse and jacket, seeing as everything was too big to fit her anymore.

"How old are you?" Nozomi asked. Maki thought about it then held up a hand with all five fingers extended. "So, you're five right now?" The red-head nodded, kicking her legs up and down. "Do you remember any of us?" The response was a shake of her head. Nozomi stood up to her full height and Maki stared at her with wide eyes.

"This isn't good, Eri-chi. She's five years old and doesn't remember us." Nozomi said, basically repeating what the other two had just witnessed.

"Is Maki-chan here nya?!" Rin shouted, bursting into the room. "She went to the restroom and didn't come back earlier!" Hanayo followed her more energetic friend, though she was equally worried about Maki. The girl in question stared wide-eyed at the two newcomers in silence, her mouth forming the shape of a small o. Honoka turned away from the awkward tension and instead set about picking up the rest of Maki's clothing. '_A skirt, her socks, her shoes, and…'_

"I found Maki-chan's panties!" She gasped, holding the article of clothing in the air before her. The child turned her attention at the sound of her name, though she seemed unbothered by the fact that it was her underwear in the air. Then again, Maki was too young to comprehend the implications behind Honoka's statement.

"No perverted actions, please." Umi said, striding up from behind Honoka to snatch the cloth away. Honoka lunged for it and Umi chopped her on the head, before heading to Maki's dropped school bag and shoving the cloth inside. Honoka, who had gone into a squatting position after getting chopped, cried silent tears. Maki got on all fours and looked down at Honoka in confusion.

"Hey. Why is everyone just standing around?" Nico asked, having to stop at the doorway since Kotori was still blocking the way into the room. The ash brunette stepped aside to let the club president in. Maki sat back on her knees and looked at the third-year student. She tilted her head in a questioning way.

"Hey…what's wrong with Maki-chan?" Nico zig-zagged her way around the other Muse members and up to the where the child sat on the table. The red-head gave Nico her full attention, staring attentively at her with inquiring eyes.

"…she hasn't said anything nya. Don't you think that's weird?" Rin muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"But don't you think we should get her actual clothes instead of letting her wear her jacket only?" Kotori asked, bringing up the most important topic that no one else had thought of before.

"Oh! We should! But who should go?" Nozomi said, tapping her chin with one finger. Honoka, who had recovered at some point, raised her hand.

"I volunteer as tribute!" She shouted.

"No more Hunger Games for you." Umi muttered, facepalming.

"Eh?! But it's like one of the only book series I read!" Honoka said, shocked.

"Um…can we get back on topic?" Hanayo said, sweatdropping a little.

"Why don't we go with Honoka-chan?" Kotori said, volunteering herself and Umi.

"Then let's go!" Honoka yelled, taking off. She didn't wait to see if the group was approved or even for the other two to agree and follow. Umi groaned and jogged after Honoka, Kotori trailing slightly behind.

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><p>Within half an hour, the three second-years were back with bags of clothing.<p>

"We didn't know how much she would need." Kotori explained.

"Honoka actually wanted to buy more than this." Umi grumbled. "We had to talk her out of most of it."

"But I thought Maki-chan would look good in it!" Honoka said defensively.

"Now that you're back…who's going to actually take responsibility and get Maki-chan to change?" Eri asked. Honoka raised her hand.

"No. I think everyone agrees, seeing as how you reacted with Maki's …that…. Before." Umi said, ignoring Honoka's pout.

"She's got a point." Nico said. She had been keeping the girl in question amused with her 'Super Idol' antics but now she stopped. Maki frowned slightly but decided that there were other interesting things to do besides watching Nico. Like finding out what were in those bags for example. She crawled on her hands and knees over to one of the clothing bags and peered in.

"I can do it, if no one else wants to." Nozomi said. No one protested so Nozomi took some of the bags in one arm and tucked Maki under the other and went into the other room.

Once inside, she set Maki on the floor in a standing position. The red-head watched her rummage through the bag.

"Maki-chan, can you unbutton your jacket and shirt?" Nozomi asked, not looking up from the bags. Maki nodded, even though the other couldn't see, and started on her task. However, the jacket sleeves were too long and she could barely get her hands out when she rolled up the sleeves to her elbows. She looked down, found the first button, and fumbled with it, trying to get it out. After a couple seconds of trying, she gave up and looked at Nozomi for help. But the other girl was still busy.

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><p>"Hello, Maki's mom." Eri had found Maki's cell phone and decided to alert the red-head's mom in case that there was something they weren't aware of when Maki was a child. It took her a few minutes to explain the situation to the elder woman.<p>

"Is Maki speaking to any of you?" The woman asked after a lengthy pause, long enough that Eri put the phone on speaker.

"No. She hasn't said a word to anyone, though she cried." Honoka said, sheepishly.

"Hm… Well, there's nothing strange about it. Maki was not a child who spoke unless it was an emergency." Maki's mom said.

"Thank goodness. I thought there was a deeper reason for her not speaking." Eri said.

"It's nothing. She just didn't like talking, for some reason. Is she there right now?"

"No, Nozomi-chan's changing her clothes in the next room." Kotori informed her.

"When you're done, can you bring her and her stuff to my house? Oh, and, you can stay over if you want so bring whatever you need. I'd better go now." Maki's mom hung up the phone.

"So…sleepover at Maki-chan's place, nya?" Rin asked.

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><p>Maki was panicking. She had been told to unbutton her shirt but she couldn't even get the button free from her jacket. And the other girl, Nozomi, was still busy and wasn't looking at her.<p>

"N-N-Nozomi!" She said, getting the other girls attention.

"Hm? What is it, Maki-chan?" Nozomi said, with a gentle smile. Maki fidgeted, not wanting to admit that she couldn't unbutton her shirt. "If it's nothing then~" It was a tease but Maki fell for it.

"I-I c-can't unbutton my j-jacket…" Maki blushed and looked down at her feet. The spiritual girl chuckled softly and stepped over to the child.

"Here. I'll help you, okay?" Nozomi said. Maki nodded, falling silent again, now that the situation had been addressed. The third year unbuttoned the jacket and the shirt, leaving the small child standing there without any clothing. One by one, Nozomi helped Maki into the new clothes that had been bought for her. First, the underwear, though secretly she wondered who had bought this part of the needed clothing. Then she pulled Maki's new shorts up. They were white in color and very soft to touch. She picked out a simple light purple t-shirt for Maki to pull on, followed by a calico colored hoodie. The socks that they had picked out for the child were white, which went with the white Mary Janes they had bought.

"Let's get back to the others shall we?" Nozomi said, stuffing the over-sized jacket and shirt into one of the clothing bags. Maki nodded and held her arms up for Nozomi to pick her up. The third-year obliged and the two of them headed back to rejoin the other Muse members. They opened the door just in time to hear Rin's comment.

"So…sleepover at Maki-chan's place nya?"

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><p><strong>AN: Not sure this should be continued or not. I'll let the readers decide since I dunno if this should continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Because I turned in my senior quote today, I will share the quote with my readers out there as well. I know it's kinda cheesy but personally, I like it.**

"**It's okay if no one accepts you right now. Someday, there will be a group of people who will accept you no matter what. So don't change." –Me (I won't put my real name there.)**

**And moving on to the main story. I don't know if anyone wants a OC to be commentating here so for now, it'll just be me. Actually, I've had the idea of a child Maki interacting with the other Muse members for a long time, since before Love Past was written. (It actually spawned Love Past, though I'm not quite sure what led to the actual pairing in that fanfic.) And yes, it is one more additional story to the ones I have not finished. But it's fun, going all over the place at once. I do realize that the update rate for each will be slowed down because of the sheer amount of stories and I apologize for that.**

**Shout out to the person reviewing on my DeviantArt. Thank you.**

…**I said I was going to move on but then I ended up rambling. My apologies and now we'll move on. I do not own Love Live or the characters.**

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><p>"Waah! So cute!" Honoka squealed, being the first to notice when Nozomi carried Maki back into the room. Maki blinked and pointed to herself. "Yes, you, Maki-chan!" The red-head smiled shyly before hiding her blushing face in the cloth of Nozomi's jacket. Honoka reached out to take Maki from Nozomi but the third-year decided she didn't want to let the child slip from her arms yet. Nozomi dropped the clothes bags and turned so that her body was between Maki and Honoka.<p>

"Aw, come on Nozomi-chan! Let me have a turn!" Honoka whined.

"No~" Nozomi chirped, skipping away. She slipped behind Umi and Eri and used them as a block to stop Honoka.

"No fair!" The ginger pouted, not wanting to push past two of the 'No-Fun Group', the collective name used for Umi, Eri, and Maki. Of course, they had been dubbed the 'Soldier Game Trio' for a while after that song came out but the rest of the members soon went back to using 'No-Fun' for the three. Always when those three were out of earshot, of course.

Nozomi smirked, having won that round. Maki had other plans. The child reached her arms out to Honoka, wanting to comfort the second-year.

"Huh? Maki-chan?" Nozomi was confused. Maki ignored her and continued reaching for Honoka. The ginger broke into a huge grin and stepped forward to take the red-head into her own arms. Eri and Umi stepped aside awkwardly. Apparently they didn't understand why Nozomi had hid behind them nor did they understand why Honoka stopped instead of pushing past them. The third-year sighed in defeat and handed the young girl over.

"I win!" Honoka cheered. Maki stared at her for a bit. Satisfied that Honoka was no longer sad, she chose to stare around at everyone else in the room to take in their faces.

"Um…should we go now? Maki-chan's mom said to go to her house as soon as we could…"Hanayo trailed off.

"And she also said that we needed to bring our sleepover stuff." Kotori said. "That means we'll have to go by everyone's house before going to Maki-chan's."

"I called Maki's mom while you were changing her." Eri explained to Nozomi, who had been looking confused at the other two's conversation. The spiritual girl nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Nico said. Almost at once, the eight of them picked up whatever bags needed to be carried and left the clubroom.

The first stop was made at Nozomi's apartment. The third-year refused to let any of them into the apartment, despite their protests.

"Maybe her parents are home and she doesn't want to bother them?" Hanayo thought aloud.

"That makes sense." Rin agreed.

From Nozomi's apartment, they made their way through the city to Nico's apartment. Like when they went to Nozomi's home, none of the other eight were allowed to follow Nico into the building. By now, Honoka's arms were tired and she set Maki down on the ground with the instruction to always hold onto one of their jackets or their hands. She got a solemn nod as a response as a tiny hand reached up to grab the bottom of her jacket.

The nine of them continued walking, stopping by Eri's house as they passed. They were all let into the house and took a small water break while the third-year gathered her supplies.

"Whoa, what happened to Nishikino-san?" Arisa asked, kneeling down before the smaller child.

"The thing is, we don't know." Umi explained and Arisa nodded, despite that it didn't explain anything at all. She held up one hand and after some hesitation, Maki raised her own hand and touched Arisa's. Pulling out her phone, Honoka snapped a picture and wondered why she didn't think to do so earlier when Maki was only in a jacket.

Maki waved to Arisa as they left Eri's house, her other hand clutching Umi's. They made a zig-zag path among the various alleyways to get to Hanayo's and Rin's houses. Instead of going in, the other seven decided to wait outside while the two first-years gathered what they thought they needed. The elder students took a breather as they watched Maki tip-toe over to one of the many pigeons in Tokyo. The bird flapped away as the child got close, startling the red-head. She ran back to the others and hid behind Eri's legs. Chuckling softly, the blonde reached down and patted the child on her head. Maki smiled at the attention she was getting and when they set out again, she was holding Eri's hand.

They reached Kotori's home next. The ash-brunette let the girls in while she explained the situation to her own mother. Maki clung to Eri's leg, staring up at the taller woman.

"Hello." Kotori's mother smiled. Maki waved shyly. Meanwhile, Kotori had gone to her room to get her things. As the third-years made small talk with Kotori's mom, the first-years and second-years (minus Kotori) followed Maki as the child set about exploring the house they were in. There was a glass sliding door in one of the rooms. With the intention of heading into the next room, the red-head ran head-on into the door. She fell back away from the glass, holding her forehead.

"Maki-chan!" Honoka shouted in fear, running forward to check on the girl. Maki grinned at her to say that she was fine, though she now sported a red mark on her forehead.

They stopped at Umi's house next so the bluenette could get the things she would need to stay over at Maki's house. No one knew how she did it (maybe she had a bag ready with all the necessary sleepover things in case she was ever asked to go on one) but she managed to dash in and come back out with a bag in less than five minutes.

"Let's go." Umi said, not even bothering to explain how she managed to get everything so quickly. Even though everyone else was staring at her.

From Umi's house, they went to their next stop at Honoka's house. The ginger let them into the main shop, knowing that she'd take a long time to get everything she needed. Maki decided to explore the shop like she did Kotori's home, though she was more careful to avoid running into glass by accident.

"Hello~" Honoka's mom greeted the child as she passed by the counter. The red-head blinked and lfted her face to see the person speaking to her. Maki smiled and waved cheerfully at the older woman.

"Would you like a red bean mochi?" She asked, pulling the sweet from the refridgerated case and holding it above Maki's head. Maki nodded and reached for the treat. "Ah, ah, ah. Say 'please.'"

"Please~" Maki chirped eagerly, stretching up on her tip-toes to reach for the sweet. Honoka's mom smiled and handed the child the sweet. "Thank you!" Maki made a small bow and started nibbling on her food.

"Um…how much is the mochi?" Eri asked, reaching for her wallet.

"It's on the house since she's such a cute and polite child!" Honoka's mom said, waving Eri's offered money away.

"Okay, I'm ready! Let's go!" Honoka shouted, charging into the shop from the house portion of the building.

All eight of the teenagers were burdened with bags so that none of them were capable of holding Maki's hand anymore. She was starting to get tired but she didn't want to place a heavier burden on any of them. So she kept silent, like normal, and walked alongside the high schoolers, holding onto Honoka's jacket.

Eri nudged Honoka. "What?" The ginger said in response.

"Give me some of your bags. Maki's getting tired." Eri said. Honoka looked down at the five year old. Maki was stumbling along, her eyes drooping slightly.

"Okay…" However, Honoka refused to give Eri any of the bags she carried and instead shifted the amount she carried so that she could pick up Maki and hold her with one arm. Maki instinctively wrapped her arms around Honoka's neck and rested her head on the ginger's shoulder.

They arrived at the Nishikino mansion in that manner. Maki had dozed off, still carried by Honoka, and the ginger still refused to let anyone else take any extra weight on.

"Oh, you girls finally made it!" Maki's mom greeted them at the doorstep. "You can give everything to the butler." The teenagers did as they were told. As Honoka handed the butler her things, the movement caused Maki to wake up. The red-head looked around curiously and spotted her mother.

"Mama!" She chirped, stretching her arms out to her mother.

"Hai, hai." Maki's mom stepped over to take her daughter from Honoka. Honoka was slightly disappointed by released the child. "Now, let's go to the living room, shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, the older woman strode off with the child, leaving the teenagers to follow.

But since Maki's mom was a doctor, she was soon called off to the hospital that the family owned for an emergency. She left Nozomi and Eri in charge as they seemed the most mature of all the Muse members.

"…I know this is a bit late, but how come Maki's so relaxed if she has no idea who we are?" Umi asked, once they had managed to locate their sleeping quarters in the maze Maki called home.

"Maybe because we haven't done anything bad?" Hanayo asked. She had taken custody of the small child at the moment, sitting with Maki on her lap.

"Hey, Maki-chan! What's Rin's name nya?" Rin asked.

"Rin!" Maki responded.

"Uwah! Maki-chan's smart nya!" Rin said, dramatically falling backwards at Maki's 'genius'.

"What about me?" Nozomi asked.

"Um…Nozomi!" Maki said brightly. Nozomi grinned.

"And her?" She asked, pointing at Eri.

"Eri-chi?" Maki said, tilting her head. That name had been the first she heard when referring to the blonde. Eri blushed.

"That works!" Nozomi said, laughing.

"What about me, Maki-chan?!" Honoka asked.

"Hono-cha!" Maki said cheerfully. Honoka's jaw dropped as the rest of her friends snickered at the new nickname she had just been given.

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><p><strong>AN: …Bye. *poofs away to work on another story***


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I just found out that Eri's name could mean "the protector" while searching for names for these two. I find it easier to use OC's to comment but none of the others will do for this story. These are the twins, Ayase Yumi and Miyu.**

**Yumi: Konnichiwa, minna-san! You probably could tell from our last name but just in case you haven't, we're EriNozo's children.**

**Miyu: …you could just say Eri and Nozomi you know.**

**Yumi: It's more fun this way. So we'll be handling reviews for Child's Play from now on. I say we get started!**

**Miyu: Yay…**

**Yumi: Put some more enthusiasm into it, sis!**

**Miyu: Y-yay!**

**Yumi: Much better. Msmusicful….sometimes you have to wonder…why do other people's comments matter? It's how you feel that's important. There's no point in trying to change yourself to satisfy someone else if it doesn't make you happy.**

**Miyu: Unless you have a bad habit. Then yeah, you should change that.**

**Yumi: Sis is right. Want to do the next one?**

**Miyu: To KevinCruelz: Yes, Nozomi lives alone but at this point in the story, it is before the other members learns that fact. As to why Maki's mom is not concerned that her daughter literally regressed into a child…let's just say that she is more occupied with life-threatening diseases than a non-lethal transformation. **

**Yumi: *claps* Nice speech~**

**Miyu: Whatever, your turn next.**

**Yumi: Author-san is updating right now, DChen. I think you already know that though. Should I take the next two too?**

**Miyu: Please.**

**Yumi: Alright. Fluff and cuteness everywhere! *celebrates with confetti and puffs of cotton***

**Miyu: …what? Nevermind, don't answer that. I'll take the last review. To Nelura, it is a HonoMaki fic, though it is mostly one-sided now. Honoka will do some…lewd things to which Maki would not react like normal since she is just a kid now.**

**Yumi: Now let's move on with the story! Author-san does not own Love Live!**

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><p>"Maki-chan! Please come back to Rin nya!" Rin wailed as she followed the super-hyped up and stubborn child for what must have been the 10th lap around the room. Umi was the only other Muse still capable of chasing the child, though both of them were reaching the end of their endurance while Maki showed no sign of slowing down. The red-head giggled and sped up, turning just before she hit the wall to continue running.<p>

"W-what…happened to the…cute and quiet girl earlier?" Honoka asked, her chest heaving as she lay on the floor.

"Maybe it's because we're at her house? And her mom's not here?" Kotori said in response, having recovered slightly more than Honoka had, though she was still in no shape to give chase again.

"Ugh….maybe…" Honoka muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm giving it another shot!" Nico pushed herself up and joined Rin and Umi as they chased Maki around the room.

"Where did she get all the energy from?" Hanayo asked. She propped herself on one elbow to look at her seniors.

"Kids are so lively~" Nozomi commented. Like the rest of her friends (well, except the ones who still chased Maki), she was lying on her back on the cool floor of their room.

"Well, is everyone up for one last shot?" Eri asked, sitting up and surveying the other tired teenagers.

Whether they were up for it or not, Eri pushed them back into the chase. Seeing as all eight of them were at it again, they decided to split up and track Maki separately instead of following her in a pack. The upside to trying it this way was that they got a lot more ground covered since there were eight of them and one of Maki. The downside was that none of them communicated with each other, which resulted in more than a few crashes as two tried to chase Maki from two directions. The two would collide and Maki would skip away, unhurt.

Maki giggled as she caused yet another crash, this time between Eri and Nozomi. The two third years had been approaching from both sides so she simply ducked and rolled as they tried to catch her. They bonked their heads on each other as Maki scurried away. She looked over her shoulder as she ran. Even if she didn't look like she cared about the well-being of her baby-sitters, she still wanted to make sure that they were okay. She ran straight into Honoka's arms and felt the limbs lock her in place.

"I got her!" Honoka announced. Maki pouted at having been caught after evading the teens for so long. The ginger flicked her lightly on the forehead, enough to sting, but not hard enough to hurt for a long time.

"Now that we've finally caught this rascal, time to give her a bath. We could probably use one ourselves." Nozomi suggested. Seeing as they were all sweaty and dirty from their constant running and colliding, the other teens agreed.

"What does Maki-chan think about it?" Hanayo asked, squatting down to Maki's eye level. The girl glanced her way and nodded, giving her assent to the mixed bathing. Apparently, now that she had been caught again, she had decided against giving her care-takers any more trouble. The girls grabbed their clothing and had a maid show them the way to the bath since Maki had forgotten where the larger bathroom was.

"Whoa…" Honoka gasped. She had been the first to enter the bath and was by default, the first to see the entire magnificence of the large bath area.

"This is big nya!" Rin gasped, skipping past Honoka to explore the place.

"I can take a shower by myself!" Maki protested as Nozomi pulled the red-head towards the shower. Her protest only earned her a flick on her forehead as the spiritual girl was set on her self-appointed task.

"She goes from quiet to hyper to quiet to stubborn." Umi sighed. The bluenette surveyed the area from next to Honoka before heading to the bath. All of the Muse members soaked in the bath for half an hour before heading back to their assigned room. Which was were all hell broke loose again.

All of the futons were set up already for them, arranged in a circle so that they were all in hearing distance of each other. The only thing keeping them from going to sleep was the red-haired devil's child refusing to go to sleep.

"It's like she has two switches and only she can control them. Stubborn and quiet." Nico commented, frowning as she applied her facial care.

"Well, she is a child right now." Kotori said, trying to reason with her senior.

"Maybe she'll listen to Honoka-chan?" Hanayo asked. They stared at Honoka, who shrugged.

"I can try." Honoka said. "No guarantee though."

Maki hid under a low table that she knew none of the others would be able to fit under, and stayed far enough from the sides that she was in no danger of being pulled out. It hadn't occurred to any person in the room that they could simply lift the table and someone would be able to get a hold of the red-head.

"Maki-chan?" Honoka peered in, having to almost completely flatten herself on the floor to look in.

"I'm not sleepy!" Maki announced. The ginger sighed, wondering about the chances of Maki actually listening to her.

"Is it okay if everyone goes to sleep though? You can stay up by yourself if you want." Honoka offered, ignoring the protests from the other girls.

"Eh?" The red-head's eyes widened. She would be alone if she stayed up and she didn't want that. Honoka could see that her attempt at reverse psychology worked. She stood up and walked away, motioning for everyone else to get into their beds.

"W-wait!" Maki crawled out from under the table. "I-If everyone's going to sleep then I will too…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This took a lot longer to write than I thought… Oh well, see you later!**


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